Senate Democrats not fully satisfied with Obamacare fix

Senate Democrats are still considering legislation to repair President Barack Obama’s broken Obamacare promise, despite the White House plans for an administrative fix.

Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) still want to see votes on their separate, alternative proposals aimed at helping Americans who lost insurance plans. Several of the other Democrats who are up for reelection in 2014 want to vote on a legislative fix, too.

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How sorry is Obama?

Democrat credibility on the line

“We will probably need legislation to make it stick,” Landrieu said, referring to the administration’s announcement. “However, do not underestimate the power of a presidential directive and don’t underestimate the willingness of insurance commissioners around this country — Republican and Democrat — to make this right for people.”

Landrieu’s bill got another boost a few hours after Obama rolled out his fix, when she got the support of Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), who isn’t up for reelection until 2018. In joining Landrieu, Donnelly criticized Democrats for not wanting to “change anything” and Republicans for being fixated on repeal. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is unlikely to allow a vote on that legislation anytime soon.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders huddled with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Thursday afternoon to discuss options for legislation that would supplement the new administrative policy.

Sebelius was there to listen, not pitch a White House plan, according to one Democratic source. It was not immediately clear what legislation House Democrats would pursue. But whatever plan they choose, it is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who has also signed onto Landrieu’s plan, said he is still backing that bill because it “goes a little further” than the administration’s proposed fix. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), said he was continuing to push for the Udall bill, which is also co-sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). All those senators are up for reelection next year.

“I’d make it permanent if I could, but I’m thinking at least two years should be on the table,” Begich said.

They’re worried that Obama’s plan allows for the insurance plans that would have been canceled under Obamacare to continue for only one year. Landrieu’s bill would allow the plans to continue indefinitely and Udall’s allows the plans to remain open for two years.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats up next year, called Obama’s plan a “step in the right direction,” but said, “a one-year fix is not enough, and we need to do more.”

Other Democrats said they’d like to wait and see how the insurance companies respond before deciding whether Obama’s plan is a strong enough response to the problem.

“The president has honored his promise, I think it’s the right decision,” said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats. “I think we’ll know in a matter of days whether the insurance companies are going to honor the president’s request and rescind these cancellations. If they don’t, perhaps we’ll look at something more stringent such as what Sen. Landrieu has proposed.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, also said he doesn’t believe legislation is needed right now.

Senate Democrats were briefed on the president’s plan by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough. He declined to comment on the meeting to POLITICO as he strolled to another Capitol Hill briefing, this one with the House Democrats.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is backing the Landrieu plan, said the votes are a matter of restoring credibility.

“It’s moving in the right direction, you know. We’ve got to get this credibility back. We’ve got to give people the chance that had the policy to keep the policy,” he said.

Asked if a fix for cancelled policies is on the table, Manchin responded: “We’ll see.”

Meanwhile, several congressional Democratic sources expressed anger that Obama’s closest allies on Capitol Hill learned of the specifics of the fix from press reports and a speech, rather than through direct communication with the White House.

“Huge frustrations,” said one aide. “It’s the opposite of the Bush administration that sought Hill buy-in before rolling out major policy changes.”

“Par for the course,” sighed another.

Still, Obama’s proposal got a generally positive reception among the 55-member Senate Democratic Caucus, particularly because leadership does not believe the Republican House would support piecemeal changes to the law aimed at improving it. The House is set to vote on a bill from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) on Friday that Democrats say is riddled with loopholes.

“No one has explained to me how you get constructive fixes through the House,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said his members were focused on positive fixes rather than destructive legislation like the House will consider on Friday. “The best way to fix this is administratively.”

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the biggest defenders of the health care law on Capitol Hill, said he was skeptical about the administrative fix.

“If it had been up to me, I am not certain I would have made this decision, but the President felt it was important to do,” he said in a statement. “My hope, however, is that everyone who has received a cancellation notice will fully and carefully consider their options. In the vast majority of cases, they will find that the coverage that they were paying good money for is not worth the paper it was printed on.”

Republicans found little encouraging in Obama’s remarks and plans to allow people to keep their insurance. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the fix “a duct tape solution to a problem that can’t be fixed with duct tape.”